If Pi was a girl

Life of Pi is a great movie. Many people are touched by Pi's perseverance and willpower, not to mention his seemingly strange but intimate relationship with Richard Parker. Everyone interprets the message in different ways, some said the movie tells the nature overpowers human, some said it's the power of faith and belief, despair and hope. And as for the relationship between Pi and Richard Parker, some said it symbolizes husband and wife, government and its people, man and inner self... so on so forth. These are some of the interpretation I heard from my friends.I think life has been really harsh on Pi. I wish he could get rid of Richard Parker earlier but I also understand that without the tiger, he would be plain, vanished and dead. Richard Parker is Pi's mirror, reflecting every side of him whether it's good or evil. And through these reflections, Pi was trained to be patient, persevere and strong. He learned about reality, life and faith. The scenes keep churning in my head and I wanted to understand every little moments in the movie, trying to get more substance out of it. Then I realized life has been harsh on many people, and Pi is only one of them.Yvonne Foong is a young lady whose life is maybe, 10 times harsher than Pi..? She went through more life-threatening moments than Pi has. She was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis in 2002 and her life has changed ever since. She underwent more than ten major operations in spine and brain. And she has several physical limitations such as deaf, visual defects etc.

In her blog, "Scars make a woman", (read her recent blog post here) she showed a long scar left after she had 5 tumours removed. I wrote about her amazing story some time ago. Since her operation years ago she has to constantly raise fund to support her medical fees. Time has not worn her out, but it has honed her into a diamond. Now she is just getting stronger and better. She is telling her story to more people and spreading beautiful messages to the public.

She decided to set up a foundation. Its mission is to improve quality of life and healthcare access for Neurofibromatosis patients in Malaysia and beyond. Now only I know setting up a foundation even a charitable foundation is so damn hard. Read it here. She needs many helping hands now. If you're okay financially, maybe you can contribute some. If not, please be inspired by her and cherish yourself.

All images via http://www.yvonnefoong.com/

I am sharing this merely because I admire her. I'm not involved in the committee of the foundation neither am I a close friend of her. I'm having some tough times myself but I daren't complain after I see living legends like them. Amazing and inspiring. You like it or not, there's always be harsh times and continuous challenges. The best way to deal is to face it, accept it, solve it. She's like Pi and her sickness is like Richard Parker. Life has to go on. Lucky or unlucky? Well depends on how you see things.